Review: Hell in a Handbag Stages a Hilarious Parody with Murder Rewrote
Hell in a Handbag puts Joan Crawford, The Bad Seed, Jane Wyman, and Mad Magazine in the Wayback Machine and produces a delicious satire with Murder Rewrote. This show is […]
Review: Steep Theatre’s The Writer Makes a Feminist Assault on Theater and Its Patriarchy
The Writer, Steep Theatre’s new play by English playwright Ella Hickson, is an assault on theater and on the patriarchy. It’s a much-deserved feminist assault. Whether it’s good theater or […]
Review: Music Theater Works Presents Madcap Ribaldry and Great Music in The Producers
Mel Brooks is one of the great geniuses of comedy hands down and The Producers is one of his many masterpieces. Music Theater Works celebrates its 150th show under the […]
Review: Captivating MJ: The Musical National Tour Gives Audiences an Eyeful of Star Power
There’s so much to see and absorb while watching MJ, the musical about late pop star Michael Jackson, that theatergoers can’t be blamed for wanting to see this show more […]
Review: In Steppenwolf’s No Man’s Land, Four Characters Act Out Pinter’s Menacing Puzzle
Steppenwolf Theatre’s production of Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land is meticulously staged and performed by an excellent cast. Director Les Waters’ four actors do a masterful job with Pinter’s puzzling 1974 script. […]
Review: Jeffrey Sweet Updates His Second City History—Now With That Elusive Viola Spolin Interview
Forty-five years ago, Jeffrey Sweet wrote a book—the story of Second City, which was then only about a decade old. But Chicago’s preeminent comedy theater had a much longer history, […]
Review: Northlight Brings the Soul and Brilliance of Musical Icons in Marie and Rosetta
Imagine in your mind Jimi Hendrix’s Purple Haze with the opening chords howling out of his Fender Stratocaster. Feel that rolling left hand or bass line in the music of […]
Review: Haven’s The Art of Bowing Challenges Us to Think About the Survival of Theater
“Theater is dead. Long live theater.” That may be the theme of Nathan Alan Davis’ imaginative and puzzling new play, The Art of Bowing, which you can now see in its […]
Review: Midsommer Flight Sorts Out Cymbeline‘s Screwball Plot for a Charming Theater Experience in the Park
Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s late and rarely performed plays. but with a trimmed-down script and engaging movement and music, Midsommer Flight overcomes the Bard’s many plot complications and creates a […]
Review: A Distinct Society at Writers Theatre Shows the Collateral Damage of Bigotry
The Muslim Ban. Those words still make me angry about the 45th president creating borders to keep the “undesirables” from entering the United States. Most sentient people are still unpacking […]
Review: Another Marriage at Steppenwolf Theatre Portrays a Marriage That Could Be Yours or Mine
You may recognize aspects of your own marriage or that of a friend or relative in Another Marriage, Steppenwolf Theatre’s world premiere play. The script by actor Kate Arrington succeeds on many […]
Review: See, Feel, Hear and Touch The Who’s Tommy at Goodman Theatre
Poet Maya Angelou suffered violence and didn’t speak for years. Tommy Walker witnessed murder and similarly shut down his senses to deal with that trauma. His fictional narrative was created […]